The present invention generally relates to tractors. More specifically, the present invention relates to stabilizing weight assemblies for tractors which increase the traction of the tractors and also stabilize the tractors.
Self-propelled lawn and garden tractors are well known. Some of these self-propelled tractors are riding tractors, and others are walk-behind tractors. When these tractors are driven on slopes or during slippery conditions, the rear drive wheels tend to slip. Therefore, the conventional tractor has treads on the tires of the drive wheels to increase traction and minimize slippage problems.
Despite such treads, the drive wheels on certain tractors tend to slip when a user operates these tractors on slopes. These tractors may be prone to slippage for a variety or reasons. Some of these tractors are relatively light in weight. In others, the weight at the rear end of the tractor is relatively low in comparison to the weight at the front end of the tractor.
Regardless of the cause, when the drive wheels of a tractor slip, a variety of undesirable consequences can occur. The user can experience difficulty in propelling the tractor forward or backward, the rear end of the tractor may sway and the user can experience reduced steering control. Depending on the driving conditions, the reduction in steering control can be especially apparent with tractors which rely upon the rear drive wheels for steering, such as the zero turn radius tractor. Zero turn radius tractors typically have two front swivel wheels and two rear drive wheels. The rear drive wheels rotate independent of one another. The user controls both the speed and the direction of this tractor by controlling the motion of the drive wheels relative to one another.
For tractors such as these which have slippage problems despite treaded tires, weight attachments have been used to increase traction. The weight attachments are typically attached at the rear of the tractor frame to distribute additional weight to the rear drive wheels. This additional weight is known to increase the frictional force acting on the rear drive wheels, resulting in greater traction.
Though such weight attachments are known to increase traction, they are also known to destabilize certain tractors when they are driven up relatively steep inclines. Therefore, there is a need to overcome such slippage problem and such destabilization problem.